


just let me know about you (latte boy)

by melancholywhite



Category: EXO (Band), SHINee, SuperM (Korea Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Fluff, M/M, Romance, Slow Burn, Valentine's Day
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-14
Updated: 2019-02-14
Packaged: 2019-10-28 12:49:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,482
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17787707
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/melancholywhite/pseuds/melancholywhite
Summary: Taemin meets a customer who asks for an interesting favor.





	just let me know about you (latte boy)

A tinkle of a bell; a door creaking open.

It's been a very quiet winter afternoon. Snow is lightly falling from the sky, blanketing roads and pavement with icy white. The coffee shop is mostly empty, save for Taemin, who is sitting behind the register in boredom, having pulled himself a stool because there were no customers. Soft rhythm and blues fill the silence through a bluetooth speaker strategically placed in the room, while the smell of coffee wafts in the air, warm and inviting in such a cold weather.

With the opening of the door, Taemin finally looks up, to see three tall men walk inside, dusting off the snow on their coats, bringing in some noise into the quiet environment from all their chatter.

 _They are such a noisy group,_ he observes as they make a fuss at the door—well, one of them is being noisy and making a fuss, while the other two seem like they're just going along with it, although their laughs are also rather loud.

Finally, two of the three men walk away, grabbing a table at the far corner of the room, while the third, the man who entered the shop first, walks over to the register. He's still trying to school his face into a neutral expression, but the smile and the giggle Taemin caught a glimpse of before was truly gorgeous.

"Good afternoon. What can I get you?" Taemin asks, the customary greeting rolling off his tongue with practiced ease. It's amazing that he can still talk so calmly, because the man in front of him is so tall, tan, _and_ handsome that it would be a lie if Taemin says that his looks isn't throwing him off-kilter.

"Two iced americanos," the man answers, before his voice quietens a notch. "And one hot chocolate, please."

Taemin nods and grabs a sharpie and the coffee cups stacked next to him, starting to write down the order in codes.

"And your name?"

"Jongin."

 _Jongin._ He even has a nice name. How amazing.

Taemin scribbles the name on the cups quickly, but right as he was reaching for the hot cup, the man clears his throat.

"Um. Excuse me," he says, making Taemin raise his head to look at him. "Can I ask for a favor?"

Taemin raises an eyebrow and waits silently. This is not new; he has had many customers asking for favors, like free water, some extra milk on the side for their kids, or sometimes even his personal phone number. He doesn't give the latter out very easily, though.

"Um, you see…" the man's eyes flickers towards his friends at the other side of the room, before lowering his voice almost conspiratorially. "Do you think you can write in the hot chocolate order as a latte? Just on the cup, I mean—I'm still ordering a hot chocolate. And like, call it out as a latte when I'm picking up the order."

Taemin's already raises eyebrow rises even higher as the man continues talking. _This_ is new. He has never had a customer order something, only to want him to call it out as something else.

"...Why?"

He had to ask. It's not like it will trouble anyone—he's the only one taking care of the coffeeshop today, manning the register _and_ making the coffee—but he's curious.

"Why? Um. Well, I'm—" the man cuts off and trails his fingers through his dark brown hair, his already quiet voice turning into a somewhat unclear mumble. "I hate coffee, but they've been teasing me about never drinking coffee today, and I just want to make them stop for _at least_ a day. It's my birthday—why would I want to get made fun of on my birthday?"

A small pout graces the other man's lips as he speaks, and for some reason, that tugs at Taemin's heart a little. He laughs.

"Well, I guess it's fine. It's your birthday, after all," he says with a grin, watching the man's eyes light up in front of him. "Two iced americano, and one hot… latte, coming up."

He tells the man the total and rings him up, before going back to writing the codes on the cup and making the coffees—and the hot chocolate that needs to look like coffee.

A loud chatter comes from the general direction of the only occupied table in the room as the man—Jongin—goes back to his seat, but Taemin doesn't bother deciphering the words. He focuses on doing what he's supposed to do, even though he's a little curious. Just a tiny bit. They look like a fun bunch to hang out with.

"Order for Jongin!" he calls out, watching the group of three raise their heads at the same time.

The odd group suddenly decides to play rock-paper-scissors, and in the end, two of them, including the man who ordered—Jongin, his brain supplies—stand up to get the three cups from the counter.

"Why do I always lose at rock-paper-scissors," the man who isn't noisy and isn't Jongin grumbles as they walk towards the counter, "It's not fair."

Jongin huffs. "Well, I'm paying for your coffee but I still have to stand up and get it—that's not fair either."

The two men finally stop in front of Taemin, and he gives them his best customer service smile.

"Two iced americanos and one latte," he recites as he hands them their order, making eye contact with Jongin, who looks very pleased. "Enjoy."

"Thanks," Jongin says to him with a large smile, grabbing his cup of hot chocolate that is masquerading as a latte while the other man takes the other two cups.

When they get to their table, the man still sitting down—the loud one—exclaims in surprise.

"You ordered _coffee?"_

"What? Did you think I won't be able to drink coffee all my life?"

"Well, yes! Who are you and what have you done to my best friend? Tell me!"

The men continue to bicker at their table, arguing about Jongin's ability—well, inability—to drink coffee, and Taemin can't help but chuckle to himself.

_What an interesting guy._

 

-

 

"Yeah, so he just—" Taemin waves his hands around his head, laughing. "—asked me to say that his hot chocolate was actually a latte. Isn't that funny?"

"Sounds pretentious," says Kibum, one of the friends who co-own the coffee shop with him, as they have a late lunch in the break room the day after Jongin came into the shop. "There's literally nothing wrong with ordering hot chocolate. Hot chocolate tastes good—especially the ones you make."

"Thanks," he grins. "But no, he didn't say it in a pretentious way. It was just… funny. And interesting—but you wouldn't understand because you weren't there."

"Well, think whatever you want, just remember that flirting with your customers while you're on the clock is against the rules."

Kibum grins at him as if he knows everything, and even though there's not an ounce of truth in his words, Taemin still gets embarrassed enough to blush.

"I'm not going to flirt with that Jongin guy. I literally only told you that he was an interesting customer!"

"Oh, so you know his name," Kibum adds in a sing-song tone.

"Of course I do—I wrote it down on three cups!"

"Taemin-ah, it's time," Minho, another one of their friends, enters the back room while taking off his blue apron. "Get out there and man the register—I need to go right now."

"Fine, fine," Taemin says, getting up from his chair. He was already done eating anyway. "I'm going."

Someone was already waiting by the register when Taemin walked over, and he hurries to take their order, completely missing the tinkle of a bell and the door creaking open to let in another customer. The first customer walks away after paying, and the next customer enters his field of vision.

It's the same tall, tan, and handsome man he saw yesterday—Jongin.

He's alone today, bundled up in a coat and scarf that makes him look fluffy and warm, dark brown hair peeking out under the beanie he's wearing.

"Hi there," Taemin greets. "What can I get you today?"

"A hot chocolate, please," Jongin says absentmindedly, his eyes trained onto the bakery display case. "And… the chicken mozzarella sandwich, I guess?"

"Would you like that warmed up?" Taemin asks as he enters the order.

"Yes, please."

"Got it," Taemin nods.

He asks other perfunctory questions, like if he's eating here or taking the food to go, before allowing Jongin to look at the total and pay for his order. After he's done ringing up the order, he reaches out for a coffee cup, lips parting into a grin.

"Do I need to mark this cup as a latte too, or are you okay with just hot chocolate today?"

Jongin freezes in the middle of putting his wallet away, eyes widening.

"You remember me?"

The man in front of him is basically sputtering out his words in shock, and Taemin almost laughs. "Well, of course. You came here barely yesterday—and I don't usually get customers asking me to mark their hot chocolate as a latte, you know."

"Uh. That's so embarrassing, I'm… I'm sorry about that," Jongin says, his ears reddening. Taemin watches as his hand comes up to brush against his own nape. "I'm not much of a coffee drinker—can't stand them, honestly—but I always get made fun of when I come to rehearsal with a hot chocolate."

Taemin frowns. "Well, I certainly don't understand why. Hot chocolates are good."

"They are!" Jongin lights up. The sparkle in his eyes is _mesmerizing._ "And the one you made me yesterday was actually the best cup of hot chocolate I've ever had—not even kidding. I might just come here regularly, from now on."

"Thank you," Taemin smiles, and he swears he can feel his cheeks heat up just a tiny bit. Very tiny. He's not used to being complimented out of nowhere by a stranger. "Anyway… this cup?"

Taemin shakes the unmarked cup in this hand in front of the other man, a reminder of his earlier question.

"Oh. Yes, right," Jongin looks like he finally remembers that he hasn't answered him. "I'm here alone today, so there's no need. But, you know, in the future, if I ever come with someone else, or if I have to take it to go…"

Jongin gives him a look, a secretive one—and this time, it actually makes Taemin laugh.

"Got it. I'll try to remember that."

"Thanks, um…" Jongin trails off, eyes darting downwards.

It doesn't take long for Taemin to figure out that the other man is searching for a nametag, but he doesn't wear one—nobody in the shop wears one—so he just smiles and offers his own name.

"Taemin," he says. "My name is Taemin."

Jongin smiles back at him. "I'm Jongin. Nice to meet you, Taemin… and thanks in advance for all the help."

"You're welcome," Taemin grins.

With that, Jongin stalks off to find a seat, and Taemin watches him settle at the long communal table in the middle of the room, before he sets out to do his job. He manages to zone out a little while making the first customer's order along with Jongin's hot chocolate, until a voice snaps him out of his reverie.

"We got a sandwich order?" Kibum asks. Taemin didn't even realize that he already came out from the back room. "Did you heat it up already?"

"No, but I already took it out," he answers. "Can you help me with that? I'm occupied."

Kibum says nothing, but from the sounds of a microwave beeping, he knows that the other man is doing it. He finishes the other customer's order before Jongin's, so Kibum takes it upon himself to call out the order, while he finishes up with the hot chocolate. A few seconds later, the sandwich is done too, and he brings both the cup and the sandwich to the pick-up counter.

"Order for Jongin!" he calls out, smiling when he sees Jongin look up from his phone to his direction. He waits for the other man to approach, trying to ignore the fact that Kibum is suddenly watching with interest after hearing him call out the name _Jongin._

"Thanks, Taemin," Jongin says as he picks up his order. "Hope the hot chocolate will be as good as yesterday's."

Taemin chuckles. "Well, feel free to let me know if you have any complaints, but compliments are always accepted, too."

Jongin laughs as he saunters back to his seat, and Taemin goes back to the register before any other customer could walk in.

"That's your latte boy?" Kibum whispers, sidling up to him and nudging his side. "He's hot. You have good taste."

Taemin glances in Jongin's general direction, before looking away. "Has nothing to do with me. I'm not trying to hit on him."

"Yeah, right."

"I'm being serious."

"Yeah, yeah. I'll believe you."

 

-

 

Jongin really does end up turning into a regular at their coffee shop.

He comes in almost every day—if not every day, then at least two or three times a week—and he _always_ comes in during Taemin's shift, which is always in the afternoons, everyday except Sunday.

"Aren't you bored of drinking hot chocolate every day?" Taemin asks, a week after Jongin started coming regularly.

"Nope," Jongin answers him, a grin settling on his lips. "I love hot chocolate, and you make the best ones."

 

-

 

Sometimes, Jongin comes in when the coffee shop is empty.

Without any customers to tend to, Taemin can get away with talking to the other man for longer than the time it takes to ring his order into the register—and he has to admit, those afternoons were some of the best he's gone through in his life.

It's not like they do anything special, either. Taemin would join Jongin at his table, and they would _talk, talk, and talk_ over a cup of hot chocolate until they can't anymore.

Over the span of two weeks, Taemin has learned many things about Jongin. He is a dancer who just got a contract at the ballet company across the street—a _principal_ dancer, Jongin had emphasized, because apparently that means he's the main star, or something like that. Jongin also happens to _loathe_ the taste of coffee, hating it so much that he can't differentiate between coffee and fish sauce, claiming they both taste terrible. Taemin had laughed pretty much his whole body off when Jongin told him the story.

It's not a one-way conversation, so naturally, he also told Jongin many things about himself.

_"I'm actually a lyricist—and an arranger, sometimes. For music, you know," Taemin told him, one afternoon. "My friends and I co-own this shop—and since I work mostly nights, I take care of the afternoon shifts and close the shop."_

_"Aren't you busy, then?" Jongin replied, an inquisitive expression on his face. "When do you sleep?"_

_Taemin laughed. "I sleep in the mornings, and wake up in time for my shift. That's why I pitched in for this coffee shop—to get free coffee, because I literally can't function without them."_

_"Ugh," Jongin's face scrunched. "I can't imagine living like that. Coffee is literally disgusting."_

Taemin only laughed back then, but now that he thinks about it, this is actually something unusual. He has never gotten along with someone so well in such a short time—let alone tell them personal details about himself. It took months for him to open up to Moonkyu and he's his best friend, while Jongin is practically half a stranger because he's only a _customer._

"Are you sure you don't have a crush on this guy? You talk about him _all_ the time, you know," Moonkyu asks, lounging on Taemin's couch like he owns it, while Taemin is sitting on his carpet, munching on pizza as he mentions this… change in socializing patterns.

"I don't."

"Liar," Moonkyu quips. "Your face literally brightens up every time you go on about him. You have a crush. A _huge_ one."

There are no secrets between him and Moonkyu, so naturally, he also told him about his newfound friendship (if he could label it as one) with Jongin. They are so comfortable with each other that they share everything, maybe even to the point of oversharing, but that is why Moonkyu knows him best, better than anyone else.

"I don't. I _really_ don't," Taemin shakes his head, although he doesn't know if he's doing it to deny Moonkyu's statement, or to shake the thought of a _crush_ out of his head. "I'm just excited to have a new friend—though I don't even know if he thinks we're friends."

"You guys talk a lot. You should _at least_ be friends, by now."

"I guess," Taemin shrugs. "But you never know, right? Maybe he thinks I'm just the weird guy from the coffee shop who happens to make good hot chocolate."

"Well, it's a pretty accurate description. You _are_ the weird guy from the coffee shop after all," Moonkyu grins. "The amazing hot chocolate is your only saving grace, seriously."

Taemin rolls his eyes and throws a swat at his best friend's belly.

"Shut up."

 

-

 

Two more weeks pass by. It's all the same, do his job at night, sleep, wake up for his shift at the coffee shop, repeat. Jongin comes by to order hot chocolate regularly, sometimes alone, sometimes with his friend Sehun, who always complains about losing rock-paper-scissors to the other friend, whose name Taemin doesn't know.

One day, things became a little different.

 

-

 

A tinkle of a bell; a door creaking open.

Jongin appears behind the door, but instead of being alone or with his friend, he brings a girl with him—a strikingly pretty girl, in fact. He has an arm around her shoulders, and they are walking so close together that there is barely any space between them. The sight strikes the wrong chord, like a sharp feeling tugging in his chest, but he puts on his best smile and greets his customers anyway.

"Hey Jongin," he says. "Hot chocolate again, today?"

"Two, please," Jongin grins. "And she's paying, because it's Valentine's Day."

Taemin frowns.

That's right, it's Valentine's Day.

He never bothered to count the days or remember, because his love life is nonexistent. Literally everyone is dating, except for him, so he almost always just spends it alone in his apartment, working.

No wonder Moonkyu said he couldn't get dinner tonight.

In his daze, he misses the girl arguing about something, but he doesn't miss the way Jongin's face softens, eyes crinkling as he laughs and lightly strokes her hair.

"Just kidding. I promised already, haven't I?"

The whole transaction flies by hazily, Taemin not paying much attention to anything else. He makes two cups of hot chocolate, calls out the order, lets Jongin pick it up and smile at him, before going back to the cash register to ring up orders for other customers.

Sometimes, he hears Jongin's familiar laughter ringing above the background noise, but then he remembers that he has that girl sitting in front of him and he thinks that _she's probably the one making him laugh._

The sharp tug returns.

Then, while looking in their general direction, he catches Jongin's hand drift forwards, to rub his thumb against the girl's lips, seemingly wiping whipped cream off of her. Jongin smiles at her tenderly—and Taemin has to force himself to look away.

_Ah. That hurts._

Looks like Moonkyu was right, after all. As always.

Taemin was falling.

No, he probably has already fallen. He fell a little too hard for this regular-slash-friend with weird requests—and the man just had to be straight _and_ unavailable.

He really wants to rip his own head off. At least then he wouldn't have to feel all the embarrassment welling up inside him at the thought of his idiocy.

_How stupid._

 

-

 

A tinkle of a bell; a door creaking open.

Taemin's head turns towards the door from where he's wiping the tables, not expecting any customers. With the short daytime of winter, the sun has set long ago; the coffee shop is pretty much closed, although Taemin hasn't locked the door.

He has been moping around since yesterday, feeling even worse every minute he spent in the shop, because Jongin didn't come today—at least, not until now.

Jongin is standing blankly at the door, bundled in a scarf and beanie as he always is. For some reason, though, he seems very down; his mood much more somber than usual.

"Hey, Jongin," Taemin decides to greet him first, putting the cleaning cloth on the counter before approaching Jongin. "Are you okay?"

That is when Jongin's head snaps up, eyes struggling to focus on him. Now that Taemin can take a good look, Jongin's eyes are puffy, his very dark circles a pretty good evidence that he hasn't had a good sleep.

Jongin looks confused; it's as if he doesn't know where he was, and how he got there.

"Jongin?" Taemin tries again.

"A-ah. Yeah, hi," Jongin smiles—or he _tries_ to smile. The smile doesn't reach his eyes. "I'm fine."

Taemin frowns. Something is obviously going on here—Jongin has a gloomy atmosphere surrounding him, even though he looked _so happy_ yesterday with that girl he brought with him. The difference is too stark; it doesn't make any sense.

"Are you sure you're fine?" he asks, worried. "You look terrible."

"I'll live," Jongin says. It's obvious that he's trying to make a light joke, but Taemin doesn't buy it. "Can I still get something to drink, or are you closed already?"

"We're closed, sorry."

"Ah. Well, then."

There's a pause in the conversation, neither of them knowing what to say next. If Jongin was just a regular customer, perhaps Taemin would have asked him to leave by now—but he isn't, and he looks _horrible,_ like he just went through hell, and Taemin has never felt more worried about anything in his life. It simply doesn't feel good to see this face, the face that usually holds a sunny smile, setting into a cloudy expression like this.

"Hey. I know that we haven't known each other that long," Taemin starts, and pauses to bite his lip. He's not sure if this is a good idea. "But you can talk to me about anything, you know. If you want someone to listen—I'm here. If not, well, I'm _still_ here, and I'd be happy to help any way I can."

The words bring up another silence, Taemin only waiting for Jongin to say something, anything. Jongin could leave, too, if he wanted.

"I…" Jongin's voice is hoarse. Tired. "I don't know if I want to talk."

"Okay. That's valid."

Another pause.

"I'd rather have a cup of hot chocolate." Then, Jongin sighs. "But then again, you're closed."

Taemin smiles. Hot chocolate. He can make hot chocolate.

"I need to close the shop, but if you don't mind waiting, I can make you some at my place? It's literally just upstairs," Taemin doesn't realize that he might come across a little too forward until the words have left his lips. Thankfully, Jongin only looks surprised, not appalled.

"You don't mind? If I come over, I mean."

"Of course not," Taemin shakes his head, smiling in relief. "We're friends, aren't we?"

"I guess we are, huh," Jongin says, a small smile gracing his lips before disappearing like a phantom.

 

-

 

Jongin hasn't talked since he entered his apartment.

Taemin had led him in, told him to sit wherever he wanted and pick a movie if he wanted to watch something, and went to his kitchen to start making the hot chocolate he promised. He ordered some food too, mostly because it's pretty much dinner time. They drank the rich chocolate drink and ate the Chinese food Taemin ordered together, but now, long after their stomachs are full, Jongin still hasn't talked, the only noise between them coming from the movie playing on the television.

He already gave Jongin hot chocolate, took out the pillows from his bedroom to make the couch more comfortable, and wrapped the other in blankets because the room doesn't seem warm enough, but he's no good at taking care of people. He doesn't know if he's doing it right, and Jongin not talking is making him more anxious, worried that all he's doing is just making it worse.

It's not like Taemin wants to force Jongin to talk to him. Maybe Jongin isn't _that_ comfortable with him yet—they have known each other for only a month, after all. That's barely enough time for anyone to open up and trust someone else with their issues.

Maybe he just made everything more awkward by asking Jongin if he wants to come up to his place.

Just as he was thinking about that, Jongin starts talking for the first time in a while.

"Thank you."

That's all Jongin says. Taemin tilts his head.

"For what?"

"For letting me come here," Jongin smiles wryly, not looking him in the eye. "I… I'm obviously not in my best mood today, so it's probably been an awkward few hours."

Taemin shakes his head. "It's fine. Everyone has bad days. You're allowed to have that too."

"I just—" Jongin cuts himself off with an apprehensive sigh. "My girlfriend broke up with me yesterday."

Taemin's head snaps to Jongin's direction almost immediately.

Out of everything, this is the last thing he expected Jongin to say. It's unbelievable. Taemin didn't know that Jongin had a girlfriend before yesterday, but even with the situation being like that, he thought they looked happy when they came to the coffee shop together. He even made a big deal out of it emotionally, feeling down all by himself for a whole 24 hours because his crush turned out to be taken, telling himself to _stop_ and get over it quickly.

"She got scouted by a ballet company in Moscow," Jongin continues, his voice sounding more stable than expected, but the way he's pulling the blanket draped on his shoulders tighter around himself betrays his actual state of mind. "She's leaving next week. Permanently."

Taemin scoots closer to Jongin, and places a hand on his blanket-covered arm. "I'm sorry to hear that."

"It's okay. I…" Jongin sighs. "I think I'll be fine. I've gone through this before, I just… I don't know."

There's another silence between them. Jongin seems to be thinking about something, and Taemin waits, his palm still on the former's upper arm, slowly moving downwards to stop on top of a blanket-clad hand. His heart is beating really fast, even though he knows he _shouldn't,_ he shouldn't be thinking about his own feelings when Jongin is sitting next to him, in pain because of his own loss of love. He squeezes on Jongin's hand to show support—and also to stop himself from _thinking,_ from being such a selfish bastard, even if it's only in his own head.

"It's something that should have ended long ago, I think," Jongin starts again. "We barely talked to each other in the past six months, since she went to Japan for a residency there. She just came back two days ago, and I was actually pretty happy—I thought we'd at least be able to spend time together, now that we're in the same city again… until she suddenly dropped the news on me after dinner."

Taemin frowns. "You didn't know she got scouted?"

"Nope. I guess I'm not important enough to be notified about such an important news," Jongin scoffs. "I don't even know why I'm being so pathetic over something like this—I even skipped practice today because I didn't want to do anything. I have never skipped practice, ever."

Jongin's hand tightens under Taemin's own, and Taemin can feel his own heart sinking at the dark expression on Jongin's face.

"I have a show opening in two weeks, and I'm sitting here, doing absolutely nothing, instead of practicing," Jongin says. "It's pathetic and _horrible,_ because at this rate, I'm gonna ruin my whole performance. I'm gonna get fired."

"Hey. No. You're not gonna ruin anything," Taemin frowns. "It's alright to be sad, you know. It's not pathetic."

"It is, though."

"It's not. If you say that one more time, I'm gonna kick your ass," Taemin says sternly. "You got hurt. It's okay to be sad—cry, scream, skip everything because you're having a bad day. It doesn't matter if it was supposed to be done a long time ago, if you should have known, or whatever. Even if you knew it was gonna happen, it would still hurt, wouldn't it?"

Jongin finally looks up, head turned to look at Taemin. There's a tear in the corner of his eyes, and with a smile that he hopes would come across as comforting, he brings up his free hand to Jongin's cheek, wiping the falling tear with his thumb.

"You can cry when you're sad," he says. "And if you need someone to talk to, just like today, you can come here anytime. I'll welcome you with food, blankets, and hot chocolate."

Before Taemin even finishes talking, Jongin is already falling forward, burying his face on Taemin's shoulder as if he's trying to go into hiding. A pair of arms wrap around his back, keeping him from pulling away, and it doesn't take long for his shirt to start getting moist, soft sniffles sounding near his ears.

It's heartbreaking. Taemin doesn't ever want to see Jongin like this again.

With a long sigh, Taemin tries to calm his own feelings down, pressing them into the deepest parts of himself, and places his hands on Jongin's waist, holding him steady as he cries onto his shoulder.

"I got you," he murmurs softly, rubbing soft circles at the back of Jongin's waist. "I got you, Jongin-ah."

Fingers tighten at the back of his shirt.

Jongin may not have said anything back, but at least, Taemin knows that he _heard._

 

-

 

Two months pass by in a breeze.

Winter has melted away, replaced by flowers of spring and almost everyone around him being happy in some sort of romantic relationship—while Taemin himself remains single.

Nothing really changed on his part, and it's always been like this, so it doesn't really matter. If there's anything that changed, it's only the fact that he has tried—and failed—to tamp down his huge crush on Jongin.

In the two months that passed, Jongin barely went to the coffee shop. He didn't come at all in the past six weeks, as he was spending almost every single day at the concert hall halfway across the city instead of in the studio across the street. It was definitely inconvenient to grab coffee—well, hot chocolate—in a place so far away from where he was based.

Despite that, he texts Taemin. A lot.

Taemin had given him his phone number after that night Jongin spent literally crying on his shoulder, just to say that he'll be there to listen whenever Jongin wants to talk. To be completely honest, he didn't expect much from the action, so he was surprised when Jongin started contacting him outside of his—admittedly decreasing—visits to the coffee shop.

They do video calls, too, mostly when Jongin has time in between shows and rehearsals. A few of those calls were barely shoven in the time between midnight and sleep, and it may sound pathetic, but those are some of the best nights in Taemin's life, just like quiet afternoons in the coffee shop with him were the best afternoons.

_"You guys act like a couple nowadays," Moonkyu said, while Taemin was scrolling through Jongin's latest text-rant about all the backstage drama he had to go through. "When are you making it official?"_

_"He's straight. There's nothing to be made 'official', Moonkyu-yah."_

_"Well," Moonkyu frowned. "That sucks."_

Back then, Taemin didn't pay much heed to his friend's words, but now, as he opens his door in the middle of the night to see Jongin standing there—waving at him, with a huge smile on his face—it finally hits him how much he had missed the other man's presence.

His eyes are probably widened to no end, because he didn't expect to see Jongin _here,_ out of all places, and he hasn't seen him in weeks and he misses him and it _sucks,_ because Jongin doesn't like guys and his one-sided crush is never going to bear any results.

Even if Jongin _does_ like guys, he probably still hasn't gotten over his ex. It's only been two months, after all. Taemin doesn't know for sure—that one night after the breakup was the first and last time they talked about it.

"It's kinda chilly out here, you know," Jongin's voice snaps him out of his reverie. "If you won't let me in, I'm gonna leave—not that I have anywhere to go."

"Sorry," Taemin steps aside, leaving enough room for Jongin to enter his apartment. "Why are you here so late?"

"Well, our show closed tonight, and my roommate decided that it was the best time to have celebratory sex with his boyfriend," Jongin's face scrunches as he shrugs. "Long story short, he kicked me out until further notice, and now I'm homeless. Can I crash on your couch?"

Taemin blinks, and then laughs. "I'll take out my spare mattress."

"Awesome," Jongin grins, dropping his bag on the floor before bounding over to hug Taemin, "You know what, Taeminnie? You're the best. Absolutely the best!"

Taemin hugs him back with the biggest smile he could muster, savoring all the warmth he can get.

"I know."

 

-

 

A tinkle of a bell; a door creaking open.

The coffee shop is empty, and mostly quiet besides the music playing in the background, and the air conditioner blasting in full power to get rid of the summer heat. However, the person entering the shop breaks the silence almost immediately, before he even gets to the counter.

"Taeminnie, I'd like to get my usual please!"

Jongin has a large, cheeky grin on his face as he stops right in front of Taemin. His hair is a freshly dyed chestnut brown—he just dyed his hair yesterday, Taemin took him to the hair salon he always goes to—and it's not like he's wearing anything fashionable, just a white t-shirt and black training pants, but he still looks so _good._

Maybe Taemin's whipped.

"I'm sorry, sir, but we don't have a menu item called 'my usual'," he replies, trying to keep a straight face, but failing.

Jongin's grin morphs into a pout in a mere second. "Would it kill you to not tease me _just_ for a day, Lee Taemin?"

"No, but I like teasing you," Taemin grins. "What are you gonna do about it?"

"Taeminnie, no flirting with the customers!" Kibum's voice hollers from inside the break room.

There's no other customer in the shop besides Jongin, but Taemin forgot that Kibum was still inside, just wrapping up his shift in the back room. His face heats up.

"Nobody is flirting with anyone!" he shouts in the general direction of the back room, before turning back to see Jongin about to double up in laughter. "What's so funny?"

Jongin bites his lips immediately, trying not to laugh. "Nothing. Just make me my hot chocolate."

"Are you sure you want hot chocolate?" Taemin quirks his eyebrows. "It's literally a sizzling _oven_ out there. You're gonna get baked."

"But I can't drink anything other than your hot chocolate here," Jongin whines, pouting.

"Iced tea? Bottled water? Canned soda?"

Jongin grumbles. "If I wanted those I would just go to the convenience store. Seriously, Taem—just make me a hot chocolate. Large."

"Fine," Taemin relents. "But if you get a heatstroke it's not my fault."

"I'm not gonna get a heatstroke," Jongin says, and Taemin could practically _hear_ him rolling his eyes. "Anyway. I'm practicing late again tonight. Wanna come?"

Taemin answers as he rings in Jongin's order. "Sure. I'm gonna have to eat dinner first though."

"Ah— Then let's eat at that chicken place down the street!"

"You're eating with me?" Taemin glances up at his friend, an eyebrow raised up. "Don't you have to stay in the studio or something?"

"Are you saying you don't want to get dinner with me?" Jongin huffs. "Fine, then."

But _of course_ Taemin would want to have dinner with Jongin. He wants to do _everything_ with Jongin, if he could.

"I was just teasing," Taemin chuckles, then waves his hand to shoo Jongin away. "Go find a seat. I'll bring your drink over."

"And the payment?" Jongin's eyes sparkle with challenge as he asks the question, and Taemin sighs.

"I'll pay for it. Go sit somewhere already."

"Yeah!" Jongin exclaims. "You're the best, Taeminnie!"

It's Taemin's turn to roll his eyes, but inside he could feel his heart swelling up—he's feeling so giddy, he could float. Or explode.

He goes on to make the hot chocolate after Jongin saunters off to sit at a random table, not noticing that Kibum has come out from the back room.

"I thought you weren't flirting," Kibum says, grinning as he nudges him on his side.

He almost dropped the cup he was holding, but he managed to keep himself together.

"I wasn't."

"Yeah, right."

"I really wasn't," Taemin reiterates, but the smile on his face can't go away.

Kibum laughs. "Yeah, okay, I don't believe you at all."

 

-

 

Watching Jongin dance is an experience.

Taemin learned of this fact a while ago, the first time Jongin asked him to keep him company during his late night practice. He had gone along with the other man's request, not having anything to do that night nor any inspiration for new lyrics.

Taemin didn't know what to expect—he has never had to watch a _ballerino_ practice before—but the moment Jongin stood at the center of the room and started to move, focusing on his every movement and how they look on the mirrors lined up against the walls, he felt like he stopped breathing.

Even now, after coming to watch Jongin's extra practice more than few times, he still finds Jongin's movements breathtaking. He never knew that a human being could glide across a room so gracefully, so effortlessly.

Jongin looks like he's about to take off and fly, and even with his shirt soaked with sweat, his hair sticking to his skin—he looks _beautiful._

Taemin blinks.

For the first time in a long time, he could see words flying into his head, stringing along to write one line after another, phrase after phrase connecting and playing to an unknown tune. Before they're gone, he grapples for his phone, searching in his pockets, unlocking it and opening his notes.

He needs to write.

 

-

 

"You know, I've never actually seen you work. On your actual job, I mean."

Taemin was scribbling lyrics onto a piece of paper in his study when he hears Jongin's voice, and realizes that Jongin had let himself into his apartment. He told the other man his house password once, on a very early morning, when he was _way_ too lazy to get out of his bed and open the door.

Taemin turns around on his swivel chair to see Jongin sitting on the small couch behind him. He has no idea how he didn't even hear him entering, but then again, he had been concentrating.

"What time is it?" he asks, yawning.

It's definitely not early in the night anymore; he is pretty sure that he has spent a couple of hours writing. His hand is sore.

"One."

Ah, that makes sense. He has been sitting here for more than just a few hours, then.

"How long have you been here?" he asks again, turning back around to face the desk.

"A while," Jongin says, finally getting up to approach Taemin, dragging the piano stool over so he can sit next to him. "I've never seen you like this, you know, just scribbling stuff on that paper, only to cross everything out. You looked frustrated."

"Sorry," Taemin chuckles, "Must have been boring."

"Not really," Jongin grins. "I got to watch your facial expression change every three seconds. It was interesting."

Taemin scowls. "I don't do that."

"Yes, you do. Don't worry, it was really cute," Jongin chuckles, and Taemin freezes.

He wasn't expecting that to come from Jongin.

Cute. Cute?

Taemin's ears must be malfunctioning.

"I just wish I could see what you ended up writing, though," Jongin's pouting now; the sight of his lips jutting out is doing things to Taemin's heart. "It was like you just started glowing with satisfaction, at one point."

"Uh. Um. I—uh," Taemin starts blinking, trying to snap out of his shock. "I— It's just a little something? I mean, it's a mess, but if you want to see…?"

Jongin brightens up. "Really?"

"Yeah," Taemin smiles a little, his mind still out of whack, sliding the papers on the desk in Jongin's direction. "I only have the first part done, though."

Jongin glances at the paper, and suddenly Taemin feels more nervous than he has ever been before. It's not like he has never presented his lyrics to anyone—he does it for a living, he wrote so that _many_ people will see them—but presenting it to Jongin is a different thing altogether.

It feels like he's baring his heart, by showing the words he has written to the person who was the inspiration behind them.

 _"A wave that spirals deep into my heart, that's what you are_ — I like this line," Jongin says, and Taemin can't help but swell up in pride. This is the line that almost got him to shout in joy, and here Jongin is acknowledging it. "This part with the elegant lips, elegant moves—it's also beautiful."

He feels blood rushing up to his cheeks, then. That part—it's solely describing Jongin, and he hopes that Jongin hasn't _noticed,_ because if he had noticed, Taemin will be doomed.

"Anyway, are you hungry?" Jongin asks all of a sudden, putting the papers back on the desk. "I actually brought some chicken, in case you were up for a late night dinner, but I don't know if they've gone cold."

As if on cue, Taemin's stomach growls—he kind of forgot to eat dinner, too busy writing since he got home.

Jongin laughs, his cheeks stretching out and lips parted, revealing perfect pearly white teeth. He smiles right up to his eyes, his eyelids scrunching together with mirth.

Taemin wants to write so many words about Jongin's laugh.

He will do that. Someday.

"C'mon," Jongin stands up, still chuckling. His hand wraps around Taemin's wrist, before shifting down to find his palm and entangle their fingers together. "Let's get your bottomless stomach fed."

Taemin isn't sure when it became natural for Jongin to hold his hand like this, pulling him out of his chair and out of his study, and into the living area.

He isn't sure when he started grinning like an idiot either—but even though his cheeks are starting to hurt, he can't stop.

 

-

 

The rest of the year passes by uneventfully.

Taemin gets busy, starting a new project with an entertainment company who contracted him to write lyrics for twenty songs. He stopped working in the coffee shop every day for the moment, prioritizing his time for his actual job, although he does come in to get coffee for himself, sometimes.

He doesn't see Jongin very much, either, although not by choice. Jongin was busy with his own performances and rehearsals—he performs four days a week and spends the rest of those days rehearsing, or sleeping. He does drop by Taemin's apartment at least once a week, though, even if it's only to blearily doze off on his bed. Then, after his show closed, he went home to visit his mother, not to come back until after the New Year's holiday.

Meanwhile, Taemin stayed in the city, doing pretty much nothing. He catches up on the sleep he missed during the torturous months doing that one project, and he watches all the TV shows and movies he hasn't watched.

Time passes just like that, and soon enough, the New Year's holiday is over. Taemin is starting to see people come and go to the ballet studio across the street again, but Jongin just texted him last night, saying he would be back later than expected—not until February, he said, and that feels like such a long time—so he's not expecting to see him there.

The sight of dancers walking into the studio does make him feel a little nostalgic, though.

It's been about a year since Jongin randomly walked into his life—well, his coffee shop—in the cold winter of January, and caught his interest almost immediately. That is probably not a long enough time to feel nostalgic about, but their friendship has progressed so fast that it feels like he's known Jongin forever.

"You look like you need a thousand hugs. Does that mean your boyfriend's not back yet?" Minho asks as a greeting when Taemin arrives to replace him.

"What boyfriend?" Taemin puts on his apron, stretching his neck and legs for another few hours of standing straight behind a counter.

"You know, the latte boy," Minho continues, "Or at least that's what Kibum calls him."

"He said he's coming back next month," Taemin says. "But he's not my boyfriend."

"Yeah, right. As if I'd believe _that,_ after everything I've heard and seen."

"What are you talking about?"

Minho takes a short glance at him, and then looks away. "Nothing."

"Wait," Taemin's eyes zero in on his older friend. "Are you hiding something from me?"

"No way!" Minho says, almost too loud. "Why the hell would I do that?"

"Is it a prank? It's not my birthday, you shouldn't prank me."

"Why are you so sure it's about you? Not everything's about you!"

Taemin rolls his eyes. "Fine. Just tell me, is it good or bad?"

"It's really nothing. Seriously!"

"You better not lie to me, hyung," Taemin says, lowering his tone. "Or else."

"Wow, Taeminnie is soooo scary!" Minho dismisses him, running off to the back room. "Anyway, my shift is over, so bye!"

 

-

 

The moment Jongin comes back from his trip home, it feels like everything has fallen back into place.

Jongin had decided to welcome himself to Taemin's apartment earlier that day, even though it was his first day back. Taemin almost got a heart attack when he walked out of his bedroom and saw Jongin sprawled over the living room couch, marathoning some TV show Taemin has never seen before. When Taemin decided that he was hungry and needed sustenance, Jongin refused to move— _"How could you just leave in the middle of this? I'm staying here and I'm going to wait until this evil guy gets what he deserves!"_ —so he ended up just going to the convenience store, getting quick takeout food, drinks, and this... little thing.

Taemin comes back to his apartment to see that Jongin is still sprawled on his couch, legs dangling over the arm, and he drops the plastic bag full of cold drinks right onto his stomach.

Jongin yelps. "Yah! That's _cold!"_

Taemin shrugs, and puts another, smaller plastic bag next to the first one. "Then here, have some hot chocolate."

Jongin _finally_ gets up, and looks inside the plastic bag—probably because it's cold, too, and hot chocolate shouldn't be cold.

"Hot chocolate ice cream?" Jongin raises an eyebrow, before laughing as if it's the funniest thing in the world. He's laughing so much he's wheezing, but it's really not that funny, honestly. "Isn't that just chocolate ice cream? Why would they name it like this?"

"How should I know? I'm not the one who named it," Taemin shrugs. He takes this opportunity to take a seat on the side of the sofa Jongin's head just vacated because he decided to sit up.

However. He never expected that Jongin would just lie back down as easily as before, placing his head on Taemin's lap and getting himself comfortable.

His brain short-circuits. It's turned off, he can't do anything, and he can't _think—_ Should he push Jongin away or just stay still? Or maybe he could stroke Jongin's hair? He has always wanted to stroke Jongin's hair. But—

"Hey, Taemin?" Jongin breaks the short silence, looking straight up at him from where he's lying on his lap. "Are you free tomorrow night?"

"Uh. Yeah?" Taemin blinks, his nervous tick coming back out in full force. "Why?"

"Well, it's Valentine's Day," Jongin says, and Taemin finally remembers that it's that cursed day of couples tomorrow—and that it would also be exactly a year since the one day that changed everything. "Do you want to have dinner with me?"

"Sure," Taemin answers easily. "Who else is coming?"

That makes Jongin frown, and that reaction confuses Taemin.

"Why would anyone else be there?"

Taemin looks down at him. "Because… it's... Valentine's Day...?"

Jongin's frown sets deeper, his eyebrows quirked together. It looks like he's trying to figure where things went wrong, and suddenly Taemin has a realization. The light bulb inside his head finally turned on, shedding light on _everything_ that is currently going on.

Valentine's Day. Dinner. _Valentine's Day._

"Wait. Wait, I… you—" Taemin stammers, before he takes a deep breath to calm himself down. "Is this dinner you're asking me out to like… a _date_ dinner?"

"...I thought that was clear?" Jongin raises one of his eyebrows, and even though Taemin's the one with the higher vantage point because of their position, he still feels intimidated. "I mean, it's for Valentine's… And isn't it about time that we go out on an official date?"

Taemin blinks, blinks, and blinks again.

And then he feels all the blood in his body rush up to his head, pooling up in his cheeks and reddening his ears—so he brings both of his hands up to his face to cover them.

This is so embarrassing. So embarrassing, so stupid, so _dumb._

Taemin is the biggest idiot in the universe, because he has the person he's been pining over for a year on his lap, asking him out on a _Valentine's Day date,_ and he actually asked who _else_ would be there. Jongin's even asking him as if it was a given that he would go—it's _about time,_ he said—so doesn't that mean that Jongin has figured out how Taemin feels about him since a long time ago?

Stupid. Stupid. How _stupid._

"Hey," Taemin feels fingers prying his fingers away from his face. "Earth to Taemin?"

When he finally relents and takes his hand off his face, he's sure that his face is already as red as a tomato. It's even worse because Jongin's hand is literally on his cheek, now—he can probably feel his skin burning hot.

"Why are you so surprised?" Jongin asks with a gentle smile on his face.

"I just…" Taemin shakes his head. "I thought you were straight."

Jongin's eyebrows curl, and he's looking at Taemin as if he just said the most incredulous thing in the world.

"Where did you get _that?"_ Jongin laughs. He's wriggling on Taemin's lap because of his laughter, and it only serves to make Taemin blush even more.

"You were dating a girl just a year ago," Taemin complains. "You even cried over her so much—don't tell me you forgot that. My observation is valid."

"Well, I do like girls," Jongin shrugs. "But I like guys too."

Taemin sighs. That's something he failed to consider, because he was too wrapped up around the idea that Jongin was _straight,_ and thus would never return his feelings.

"If you're gonna assume based on observation, you should observe a little more, you know," Jongin says, a small grin on his face. "Start with this apartment, maybe. I have your password. I have a toothbrush in your bathroom, and clothes in your closet. I'm also using your lap as a pillow, at the moment."

Taemin looks away from Jongin's teasing gaze. He knows where this is going, and even though he likes it, he's pretty embarrassed by his own severe denial.

"If anyone saw us like this, they would assume that we're dating, you know," Jongin continues. Taemin can hear the smirk in his voice. "Not to mention if they knew that I sleep on your bed pretty regularly—well, at least before the vacation."

Taemin didn't know that the heat in his cheeks could get even hotter. He's starting to get dizzy and giddy at the same time, even though he doesn't know how things got to this point.

"Are we, though?" He braves himself to ask, although he still doesn't have enough courage to look Jongin in the eye as he asks the question. "Are we dating?"

Jongin hums, and pulls at Taemin's chin so that he would look down to face him. The smile on Jongin's face is so blindingly beautiful that Taemin can't help but gape.

"How about you decide after seeing how things go tomorrow, hmm?"

 

-

 

It's a beautiful night.

Snow is falling down from the sky, painting the streets in white, but it's not as cold as it had been in the past few days, mostly because of the warm presence standing next to him, wrapped in his usual scarf and beanie.

The walk home to Taemin's apartment is shorter than he would like. He wants to stay out here, in the warm winter with his beloved—if he could get ahead of himself and call him that—by his side, his small hand almost completely wrapped in Jongin's own, and shoulders brushing against each other with each step. But time doesn't seem to be on their side, because he finds himself in front of his apartment soon enough, Jongin opening the door for him to enter.

"Thanks for the dinner, Jongin-ah," he says, once they have both stepped inside the apartment. "I really, really—"

"Wait," Jongin says, a sweet smile on his lips. "I'm not done yet. There's still one more thing."

Taemin frowns. "What? You really don't have to do anything else. This is already perfect—"

Jongin comes closer and places his finger on his lips, shushing him.

"Just sit on the couch and wait, okay? I'm gonna borrow your kitchen."

Taemin blinks in confusion, but he nods anyway, following as Jongin nudges him to the couch.

"Stay here. I promise I won't ruin your kitchen," Jongin chuckles, before he walks away.

Taemin is mildly concerned, but it's not long until he distracts himself with thoughts of how the night had gone. Jongin had picked him up after his shift at the coffee shop to take him to the restaurant he had reserved, and dinner had been very nice; the food delicious, the atmosphere intimate, and the company beguiling. The conversation never stopped, and even if there was a pause, it was a comfortable, intimate one of shared glances and intertwined fingers.

Jongin had looked especially beautiful under the candle light, and if Taemin wasn't already bewitched, he probably would have been, right then and there.

He realizes that he has gotten lost in thoughts when he hears steps nearing him, signaling that Jongin's back from the kitchen. Looking up, he sees Jongin carrying a matte red mug—one that does not look familiar to him at all, which means it probably didn't come from his kitchen cabinets.

Slowly, Jongin takes a seat next to him, still holding onto the mug carefully, and he follows each and every movement the other man makes, including the nervous flicker in his eyes.

"So," Jongin clears his throat. "I can't cook."

Taemin tilts his head—he doesn't know where this is going, but he waits.

"And I can't bake either, but there's this tradition to give handmade chocolate on Valentine's Day, so," Jongin pushes the mug in Taemin's direction, making him look down to see what it is. It smells like— "I made you hot chocolate. I got the recipe from your friend in the coffee shop—Minho? Though he said you don't like spice so I should just make it plain. Anyway—"

Jongin takes one of Taemin's hands and guides it to wrap around the mug.

"Here. This is for you."

For some reason, Taemin feels very calm. At least, his head is clear—even though his heart is pounding in his chest like crazy.

"You're really something special, Taemin-ah," Jongin starts talking again. His voice is stable, but there's a slight quiver underneath that betrays his emotions to Taemin. "I have never gotten along with anyone as fast as I had with you. We don't have a lot of common interests, but I still feel like I can talk to you about anything and everything—I could trust you as if I have known you forever."

While listening to Jongin talk, Taemin is starting to understand what's happening to him. He must be in some sort of a state of shock—that must be it, otherwise he can't explain why he is so calm when Jongin is about to spill some words that would make his heart _explode._

"I love you." And there it is, the bomb that Jongin has set down to make Taemin's heart burst. "I'm in love with you, and I know it's kinda shitty to convey that _just_ with hot chocolate… but then again, hot chocolate is kind of what brought us together, right?"

Finally, Taemin takes the hot chocolate from Jongin's hands, and drinks it, observing Jongin's reactions while he was doing that.

Jongin's gaze can't focus on one spot, flitting around everywhere in nervousness, and he's also rubbing at the back of his neck—as if that's going to hide the fact that his face was as red as this mug in his hands.

Taemin can't help but smile against the rim of the glass, especially when the first sip of hot chocolate reaches his tongue.

"It's good," he manages to say after savoring the taste, and Jongin's eyes flit back to him expectantly. "I like it. The hot chocolate."

Jongin looks at him, raising one of his eyebrows. _"Just_ the hot chocolate?"

Taemin stills for a moment, before he snaps out of it.

"No—of course not. I, well, I—" Taemin is sure his face is as red as Jongin's right now, with the earlier calm disappearing like it never existed. He has so many words to say, but none of them are coming out—instead, he's being awkward like this, ruining the moment. "I love you too—but I think you already know that."

Jongin chuckles, and Taemin finally decides it's safer to put the mug on the coffee table, so he can cover his face with both hands. His hands are shaking.

"Ah… This is so embarrassing."

"It is, isn't it?" Jongin says.

Taemin feels a shift on the couch; Jongin is scooting closer to him. Then, he feels a pair of hands gently take hold of his own, prying them away from his face and pinning them down on his thighs.

"So?" Jongin asks, as if that's a very clear question.

"So what?"

"What's the verdict?" Jongin continues, a lopsided grin on his lips. "Are we dating, or are we not dating?"

Taemin blinks, then he laughs.

"Please date me," he says, perfectly knowing that the blush has never left his face. "That would make me _really, really_ happy."

Jongin's grin widens at his words, the smile so bright and blinding from up close. He leans his forehead against Taemin's, and Taemin feels warmth, softness, and all the other fuzzy things making a mess in his heart.

"Okay," Jongin replies, before finally closing the distance between their lips for the very first time.

 

-

 

A tinkle of a bell; a door creaking open.

"Welcome," Taemin greets, when a familiar silhouette bundled in scarves and a beanie appears at the doorway. He smiles. "What can I get you?"

"Two iced americanos please," the man across the counter says. "And one hot chocolate, as well."

Taemin nods, and immediately grabs the cups and sharpie to write down the codes. "And would you like your hot chocolate to be written in as a latte today, sir?"

"Do you even need to ask?"

There's a sigh coming from the man standing in front of him, and Taemin can't stop the grin that is stretching his cheeks while getting an idea to write something _else_ on the cups.

"Don't you _dare_ write my name as Ninibear."

Taemin stops immediately, looking up with his best pout. "But why not?"

In front of him, Jongin blinks, taken aback.

"Because— well, just don't!" Jongin almost exclaims. "Do you even know how much Sehun made fun of me the last time you wrote that on my cup?"

Taemin laughs as he rings up the order. "Fine, I won't."

"Good," Jongin says, handing over the exact change. He has long since memorized the amount of money he needs to pay for this order.

"Please take a seat, I'll call out your order later," Taemin says with his best customer service smile, because someone else just entered the coffee shop behind Jongin.

Jongin walks away from the counter, and Taemin takes the other customer's order, before making them all together.

The iced americanos are easy to finish, while the hot chocolate takes slightly more time—but in that time, he suddenly gets a strike of inspiration. He shuffles quietly to the register and takes the sharpie left there, then goes back to Jongin's cup and scribbles tiny words on it.

_A wave that spirals deep into my heart,_

_that's what you are ♡_

The hot chocolate finishes right on time—he pours it into the cup, and carefully brings the orders to the pickup counter, calling them out. Jongin leaves immediately after getting the orders, only giving him a small wave.

Taemin knows Jongin is running an errand, so he doesn't expect much talking in the first place, but a few minutes after his boyfriend-slash-customer left the coffee shop, he feels his phone vibrate in his pocket.

Taemin smiles. Jongin must have found the tiny little surprise he left on his cup.

**_Jongin ♡_ **

_[picture attached]_

_So cheesyyyy but I love that line_

_Love you too, Taeminnie ♡_

  


**Author's Note:**

> It's been a while. Please excuse my rusty writing skills :(
> 
> I hope everyone had a good Valentine's Day ♡
> 
> Comments are appreciated, and you can also find me on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/mlchlwhite) and [curiouscat](https://curiouscat.me/melancholywhite)!


End file.
